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Keith Richards, 74, Reveals He’s Finally Given Up Drinking

Keith Richards Says His Drinking Days Are Finally Behind Him

PrintJoel Balsam

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Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards’ hedonism is legendary. He has been known to have had acid-fueled orgies and partied while jacked up on heroin, pills and, of course, booze. Lots and lots of booze. Just look at him nonchalantly swigging from a bottle on stage.

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But it appears like Richards’ boozing days are behind him as the 74-year-old reveals he’s given up drinking.

Pulling the Plug

Ahead of the band’s upcoming U.S. tour, “No Filter,” Richards told Rolling Stone magazine he quit drinking about a year ago. "I pulled the plug on it,” he said. “I got fed up with it.”

Richards hasn’t gone completely cold turkey. He still has “a glass of wine occasionally, and a beer,” but he admits that at his age, it was finally time to slow things down. “It was time to quit,” Richards said in the interview, adding that it was a bit of an adjustment. “You can call it that, yeah, but I don’t notice any difference really – except for I don’t drink. I wasn’t feeling [right]. I’ve done it. I didn’t want that anymore.”

You Can Always Get What You Want

While Richards might be quitting alcohol, he won’t stop playing in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. On whether he’ll play anymore shows after “No Filter,” he said he’s taking the future “one tour at a time.”

“It’s what I do, man,” he told the magazine. “Give me 50,000 people and I feel right at home. As [guitarist Ronnie Wood] and I often say before we go on, ‘Let’s get onstage and get some peace and quiet.’”

A Trend?

Richards isn’t the only formerly indulgent celeb to come out about curbing their drinking habits as they get older. Wrestler Ric Flair -- who has been cleared to fight again at age 69, a year after being put in a 12-day coma -- said he doesn’t drink anymore. And while the Texas Rattlesnake might be much younger, 53-year-old “Stone Cold” Steve Austin said he’s no longer crushing beers over his head and has given up booze in favor of good health.